Bunny proofing for house rabbits, TV & power cables

TVs

In this article we show you how to bunny proof your TV, bunny proofing can prevent house rabbit damage to TV electrical & cables from chewing.

Naturaly Irresistible

It is important to your bunny’s health and happiness that you share lots of supervised time together, giving them the freedom to enjoy roaming safely in the home you share with them. This for most people involves relaxing in a room with there rabbit and the television or stereo on. But the noises and flickering light your TV makes, its likely position in the room, and the fact that your attention is constantly drawn will not go unnoticed which can lead them into what is potentially a disaster zone for a house rabbit often at a time when you have taken your eye off them as you are engrossed in a program. In most cases some bunny proofing is essential to ensure that your bunny is safe around this type of electrical equipment and it remains free from damage that can lead to costly repairs.

Rabbits love places to hide

The types of problem behaviour that can develop around electrical equipment such as chewing on cables or crawling into narrow spaces are easy to understand and prevent if you consider what’s behind this behaviour. In the open space of your lounge, like that of a natural open space your bunny is always going to want to keep to the edges, out of harms way. In there need to explore these features at the edge of the room the TV and stereo are likely to be pushed directly in there path. A path that in the wild a rabbit would keep maintained. Your rabbit will see your TV and stereo equipment as a place of shelter to run to and hide in and will want to clear away any obstacles from this path which in the case of the back of a TV can be very damaging. They are adept at slicing through cable sized roots and branches with there razor sharp teeth. They will also crawl into spaces to see if they can squeeze through to avoid predators larger then them which often have sharp metal edges. The best approach is to prevent them interacting with these spaces entirely and provide lots of safe alternatives.

Wall mounting and shelves

If you can move your TV or stereo out of harms way then this solves most of the problem for you. Place your stereo on a set of shelves or invest in a wall mounting kit for your TV. These kits can be purchased from most electrical retailers or DIY stores.

Cabinets

Boxing in this type of equipment is the simplest way of removing the danger and it is well worth looking around for a cabinet that your TV or Stereo can all neatly fit into that shuts it off completely. Avoid complex door mechanisms that a rabbit could get trapped in a hurt, also cabinets made of soft wood are likely to receive more damage then a wood laminate or metal framed cabinet. Some simple customisation can also be done to help thread the majority of the cables through the compartments inside the box further limiting the exposure of cables.

Blocking off access

If you do not have an appropriate cabinet some simple measures can be taken to block the sides off and prevent access. This can be successful done using sheets of Perspex or wire fencing or sheet of wood. These surfaces can be wedged up against the sides of the TV or Stereo to prevent access. Avoid cardboard as it won't be secure enough and may end up being more of a temptation.

Power leads

Its worth considering positioning it in front of a plug socket so this too can be rendered inaccessible without having to trail any power leads up to it, you can then ensure the complete unit is totally safe. If this is not possible any exposed leads can be sealed away separately using a variety of products available from a DIY store, these can include running some boxing along the wall or using some tough plastic tubing. Rather then taking off the plug and threading it through the tube it is simpler to split the pipe along its length and slip the cable in. Also a good way to secure the ends to the pipe as this can become exposed if it slips down is to use some duct tape.

Audio visual cables

Any other audio visual cables can be tidied up using cables wraps or tidying solutions that can be provided by stationary suppliers. These typically come in the form of flexible split length tubing or coils that can be wrapped around. The neater it is the less of a temptation it will be.

Remote controls

Lastly always remember to put your remote controls out of reach. The attention you focus on it will not go unnoticed by your bunny who will also want a go in it if you leave it ungraded. This unfortunately normally involves slicing all the buttons of which can be incredibly frustrating. Its best to finding a place out of reach and get in the habit of putting it there when you not directly using it.